Sunday, December 27, 2015

Force Awakens' becomes fastest movie to $1 billion

"Star Wars: The Force Awakens" has reached $1 billion at the box office, reaching the milestone with record-setting hyper speed.
The Walt Disney Co. said "The Force Awakens" crossed the billion-dollar mark Sunday, accomplishing the feat in just 12 days.  The previous movie to reach $1 billion the fastest was Universal's "Jurassic World," which did it in 13 days in June. "Jurassic World" also had the benefit of record grosses in China. "The Force Awakens" doesn't open in the world's second-largest movie market until Jan. 9.
J.J. Abrams' installment of "Star Wars" also posted the biggest Christmas Day box office in history with $49.3 million and the best second-weekend earnings with $153.5 million.
"The Force Awakens" has been setting records since its debut Dec. 17. It brought in a galactic $238 million in North America over its opening weekend, besting previous record-setter "Jurassic World," and set international opening-weekend records in Australia, New Zealand and throughout Europe. It scored the biggest worldwide debut with $529 million. It also topped $100 million in IMAX screenings in 10 days, another global record.
"You almost have to rewrite all the record books for this movie," box office analyst Paul Dergarabedian of Rentrak said. "It's absolutely mind-blowing that `Star Wars' could get to a billion dollars in 12 days and it hasn't even opened in China, the second biggest movie market in the world."
The power of "Star Wars" meant the rest of the week's releases were competing for second place. That prize went to the Paramount comedy "Daddy's Home," which opened with $38.8 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. David O. Russell's new drama starring Jennifer Lawrence, "Joy," debuted in third place with $17.5 million.
A flurry of new films also opened in the top 10 this weekend. "Concussion," the Will Smith-NFL drama, took in $11 million, good for sixth place, followed by the financial-crisis saga "The Big Short," which collected $10.5 million. The remake of "Point Break" opened with $10.2 million. And Quentin Tarantino's latest film, "The Hateful Eight," debuted in 10th place with $4.5 million.
A juggernaut like "Star Wars" empowers the entire industry, Dergarabedian said.
"It's great for the audiences, great for studios and theater owners in particular who can point to this and say the movie theater industry is as viable and relevant as it's ever been," he said.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Rentrak. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," $153.5 million.
2. "Daddy's Home," $38.8 million.
3. "Joy," $17.5 million.
4. "Sisters," $13.9 million.
5. "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip," $12.7 million.
6. "Concussion," $11 million.
7. "The Big Short," $10.5 million.
8. "Point Break," $10.2 million.
9. "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay-Part 2," $5.3 million.
10. "The Hateful Eight," $4.5 million.

http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2015/12/27/force-awakens-becomes-fastest-movie-to-1-billion/

Saturday, December 26, 2015

Star Wars: The Force Awakens Backstory ,Rey

 hot-toys-star-wars-rey.jpg

The belonging you seek is not behind you. It is ahead."
Maz Kanata to Rey[src]
Rey was a Force-sensitive human female scavenger who conducted her trade on the planet of Jakku, located in a remote section of the Western Reaches, thirty years after the Battle of Endor. The scavenger was born to unknown parents and at the age of five, was left on Jakku, a junkyard planet littered with leftovers from a battle between the New Republic and the Galactic Empire. During her lifetime, Rey learned how to survive, becoming a gifted mechanic, pilot and warrior. She was seemingly destined to live out her days on a forlorn backwater world, while ignorant of the larger galaxy and its perils and possibilities. She inhabited a downed AT-AT and scraped a living through scavenging parts from ships from the battle, while hoping for the return of her long-lost family, from whom she was separated when young.

Rey's life changed when she encountered BB-8, a Resistance astromech droid carrying a star-chart offering a clue to the location of the long-lost Jedi Master Luke Skywalker. She also met a renegade former stormtrooper, Finn, and they forged an unlikely friendship. With their escape of Jakku, Finn and Rey found themselves caught in a galactic war, with both of their destinies shaped by the awakened power of the Force. When Kylo Ren's First Order forces came to attack them, Rey, with Finn and BB-8, escaped on the Millennium Falcon, Han Solo and Chewbacca's ship. Chewbacca and Solo soon joined Rey and Finn and they went to Maz Kanata's castle at the planet Takodana. Rey was called by the Force to a lightsaber that had previously belonged to Anakin Skywalker and Luke Skywalker.

Upon contact with the lightsaber, Rey received a series of visions. After the vision, Maz Kanata explained to her the lightsaber's history and that it was now calling to her. Shortly afterwards, Rey was captured by Kylo Ren as the First Order attacked Takodana.

Finn, Chewbacca, and Han Solo went to the Resistance base, where they meet Leia Organa, C-3PO, and R2-D2. Meanwhile on Starkiller base, Kylo Ren unsuccessfully tried to pull information about the starchart Rey had seen from her mind. Now aware of her Force powers, Rey was soon able to free herself and started looking for a way out of the base.

Finn, Chewbacca, and Han Solo infiltrated the base to bring down the shields in preparation for a large-scale Resistance attack, and also to recover Rey. They soon encountered her. After Kylo killed Solo, he chased Rey and Finn. Kylo force pushed her and briefly knocked her out. Finn, enraged, fought Kylo with Anakin Skywalker's lightsaber, but was severely wounded and fell into a coma. Rey regained consciousness, took the lightsaber, and defeated Kylo. She severely disfigured him, but she spared his life. After escaping in the Falcon with Finn and Chewbacca, Rey set out to find Luke Skywalker with Chewbacca, R2-D2, and C-3PO, eventually finding him on an oceanic planet following the directions of the encoded star-chart.




Biography

Early life

"I don't do that anymore. But I've kept these things anyway—to remind myself of how far I've come, I guess."
―An entry in Rey's journal[src]
Rey was born to unknown parents and at the age of five, was left on the planet Jakku,[4] a junkyard planet littered with leftovers from the Battle of Jakku between the New Republic and the Galactic Empire.[5] She lived on her own inside a downed AT-AT and learned to survive by scavenging the leftovers which she would sell for sustenance.[1] Rey's skills as a scavenger have earned the respect of many junk traders, Unkar Plutt in particular. Plutt ordered his thugs not to steal Rey's wares because she was a valuable source of salvage. Rey had learned self-defense as a matter of necessity in order to to adjust to the harsh conditions on Jakku.[2] On one of her scavenging trips, Rey came across an old flight simulator. She took the simulator back to the AT-AT she lived in and used it to learn how to pilot as a source of entertainment.[6] Rey kept an old Rebel flight helmet during her one of her first scavengings at the Graveyard. The helmet belonged to Captain Dosmit Ræh of the Tierfon Yellow Aces. Rey would make up stories about who Ræh was and what planet she might have come from. She also made a doll out of a flight uniform she found in a cargo container. She would put on the helmet and explore the AT-AT walker and the outdoors with the doll and she would find lost rebels and get them back to their ships.[7]

Meeting BB-8 and Finn

"I know all about waiting. For my family."
―Rey to BB-8[src]



Rey with BB-8
Rey meeting BB-8 for the first time
Thirty years after the Battle of Endor, Rey encountered a BB-unit astromech droid named BB-8 struggling against being captured by a Jakku scavenger named Teedo. She freed the droid and set it on its way, but BB-8 was insistent on remaining with Rey. When returning to a settlement to collect payment on scrap, two thugs attempted to steal the droid, but Rey fended them off with her staff. BB-8 then saw Finn, a former stormtrooper and an acquaintance of the droid's owner, Resistance pilot Poe Dameron. BB-8 identified the jacket Finn was wearing as that of its owner, so Rey attacked Finn, believing him to be a thief. After Finn explained his intentions, the First Order arrived, searching for a map that would reveal the location of Luke Skywalker, the last of the Jedi, which BB-8 was in possession of. Rey, Finn, and BB-8 managed to escape in the Millennium Falcon, destroying two TIE fighters that had been pursuing them.[1]

Journey to Takodana

"Rey... these are your first steps."
―The voice of Obi-Wan Kenobi during Rey's vision[src]



Maz Kanatas Castle Takodana
Han, Rey, Finn, and BB-8 travel to Maz Kanata's castle.
After escaping from Jakku, the Falcon was in major need of repairs, so the two humans and the droid began working to fix it. While they were working on repairs, the ship was caught in a tractor beam. Initially believing themselves to be captured by the First Order, they met their real captors: Han Solo and Chewbacca, the former owners of the ship. After a scuffle with enemy gangs of Solo's, in which Rey accidentally released three rathtars, Solo took Rey, Finn, and BB-8 to the planet Takodana to meet with Maz Kanata. There, Rey was called by the Force to a lightsaber that had previously belonged to Anakin Skywalker and his son Luke (which the latter had lost during a duel with the former in Cloud City three decades prior). Upon touching the lightsaber, she received a series of visions in which she saw Cloud City, Luke with R2-D2, herself as a child watching the departure of her parents, and the Knights of Ren surrounded by slaughtered victims. After the vision, Maz Kanata explained to her the lightsaber's history and that it was now calling to her. Frightened by her vision, Rey refused to keep the lightsaber, running off into the woods with BB-8.[1]

Capture and escape

"You're afraid... that you will never be as strong as Darth Vader!"
―Rey to Kylo Ren[src]



ReyRen-TFAintltrailer
Rey is captured by Kylo Ren.
While fleeing through the woods, the First Order, tipped off to BB-8's presence, attacked Takodana. Rey encountered Kylo Ren and shot at him with her blaster pistol, but Kylo restrained her using the Force. Learning that she had seen the star-chart BB-8 carried, he decided that capturing the droid was no longer important, as he believed he could pull the information from Rey's mind instead. He rendered her unconscious with the Force and took her with him.
She was brought to Starkiller Base and interrogated by Kylo Ren, trying to pry from her information on the map to Luke Skywalker. However, the darksider had a difficult time probing her mind, and Rey was able to reach into Ren's mind, sensing his fear at being weaker than his maternal grandfather Darth Vader. Upon realizing that she was Force-sensitive, she used a mind trick on her stormtrooper guard, allowing her to escape. Rey then made her way through the Starkiller Base, honing her Force abilities while using stealth. She eventually encountered Finn, Han Solo, and Chewbacca again, who had come to sabotage Starkiller's shield generator, as well as rescue Rey.[1]

Rey vs. Ren

"You're a monster."
―Rey to Kylo Ren[src]
After going with Finn to plant explosives, Rey witnessed Solo attempt to reason with Kylo Ren, where she learned he was actually Han's son Ben Solo. Kylo instead gave in fully to the dark side by murdering his father, shocking and enraging her and Finn. While escaping, Kylo pursued Finn and Rey. When they encountered each other, Kylo pushed Rey away, and Finn ignited Skywalker's lightsaber and engaged Kylo in a lightsaber duel. After Kylo disarmed and wounded Finn, he attempted to call the fabled saber to him with the Force, but it instead went to Rey. Rey then engaged Kylo in a duel, and despite her apparent lack of training, was able to hold her own. Kylo pressed his offensive and became deadlocked with Rey at the edge of a precipice. He remarked on her lack of training and offered to teach her. Rey belligerently rejected him and called on the Force to wound and defeat the darksider. Before she could kill or capture him, however, a fissure due to the planet's impending destruction separated the two. Rey then took the wounded Finn to the Millennium Falcon, piloted by Chewbacca, and returned to the Resistance base on D'Qar.[1]

Search for Luke

"Rey. May the force be with you."
―Leia to Rey[src]
Upon returning to the Resistance base, the reawakened R2-D2 revealed the rest of the map showing the location of Luke Skywalker. After saying goodbye to an unconscious Finn, Rey, Chewbacca and R2-D2 took the Millennium Falcon to Luke's location. With the Wookiee and the droid staying behind, Rey journeyed across the island of an unnamed planet, which she had previously seen in her visions. There she found Skywalker and presented him with his old lightsaber.[1]

Personality and traits




ReyHS-Fathead
Rey was a fair-skinned, brown-haired woman.
On Jakku, Rey was a loner, scavenging by herself and living alone inside the wreckage of a downed AT-AT walker, hoping for her family to return despite many years of their absence. Despite her years of isolation, she was keen to help people in need, saving BB-8 twice from thieves and then providing assistance to Finn. She was frightened by her first Force vision, not wanting to take up the Skywalker lightsaber, but her resolve strengthened and willingly took up in order to save Finn. Unlike Kylo Ren, who was prone to fits of rage and used his rage in combat, characteristics typical of dark side users, Rey was able to remain calm and focused in order to defeat Ren using the light side of the Force.[1]

Powers and abilities

Due to her life as a scavenger, Rey had significant technological prowess. She was able to repair the Millennium Falcon, despite it having been decades since it last flew, and her knowledge of the ship impressed its former captain Han Solo. She was also a skilled pilot, flying the Falcon through the wreckage of a Super Star Destroyer.[1]
 
She also had some prowess in melee combat, probably due to her rough upbringing. She wielded a staff and was able to use it to subdue two Jakku thugs, as well as former First Order stormtrooper Finn. This combat proficiency, combined with her Force sensitivity, would translate into skill with a lightsaber. Despite no apparent Jedi training, she was able to fight Kylo Ren, a trained (albeit wounded) Knight of Ren to a draw in her first lightsaber duel. She had little knowledge how to use a blaster until the battle at Takodana, but quickly picked up the skill and shot several stormtroopers.[1]
Rey was naturally gifted with the Force, and could use several powers despite little to no training. She experienced a Force vision upon touching the former lightsaber of Anakin and Luke Skywalker. She was also able to resist Force mind-reading techniques performed by Kylo Ren, and was instead able to reach into his own mind and discover his fears. Despite two initial failed attempts, Rey was able to use a mind trick on a stormtrooper forcing him to release her from her restraints, leave with the cell door open and drop his weapon for Rey to use, aiding her escape. Shackled at the time, Rey accomplished the feat without the use of any distracting gesture. She also used telekinesis, pulling the Skywalker lightsaber from the snow, directly counteracting Ren's attempt to summon the same weapon. Her affinity with the Force then allowed her to defeat Kylo Ren in a lightsaber duel, despite the latter's greater experience, though notwithstanding his wound.[1] Rey also demonstrated the ability to resist the dark side of the Force, choosing to spare Kylo despite the dark side's lure calling to her to end his life.[8]

Behind the scenes

"I tend to gravitate towards stories of women, of young women in situations – as I did with Felicity and Alias. And we were talking about 'Who could this be?' and I saw this young woman."
J.J. Abrams[src]
Rey is portrayed by Daisy Ridley in Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens. Ridley's casting in the film was first announced on April 29, 2014,[9] and her character was first seen in the first teaser trailer for the film on November 28, 2014.[10] Her first name was revealed by Entertainment Weekly in an exclusive trading card.[11] The Force Awakens director J.J. Abrams stated that it is "completely intentional" that no last name has been provided for the character.[12]

Appearances

Non-canon appearances

Sources

Notes and references


Wiki-shrinkable
Wookieepedia has 27 images related to Rey.

External links

  • WP favicon Rey on Wikipedia

Star Wars: The Force Awakens Backstory, Luke's Blue Lightsaber

 

 Luke Skywalker's blue Lightsaber is a Weapon in the Star Wars universe. First wielded by Anakin Skywalker during The Clone Wars, the weapon eventually came into the hands of Luke, and evidence strongly suggests it subsequently came to Finn.

Description

Luke's lighsaber is an enclosed, reflective silver cylinder emitting a light-blue shaded blade of energy. Its design is reminiscent of Darth Vader's red lightsaber.
Over time it has been subtly tweaked and modified.

History






The saber was first created as a replacement for Anakin Skywalker's lightsaber destroyed just before the Battle of Geonosis. Anakin wielded the blade throughout The Clone Wars and the events of Revenge of the Sith, including the assassination of Count Dooku and his duel with Obi-Wan Kenobi. After maiming Skywalker on Mustafar, Obi-Wan took the blade, leaving Anakin for dead.
Obi Wan subsequently took the blade into exile on Tatooine. He wanted young Luke Skywalker to have the lightsaber when he was old enough, but Luke's Uncle Owen would not allow it.
After Skywalker encountered Kenobi near the Dune Sea, Obi-Wan presented Luke with the blade and explained that it had belonged to Luke's father. He offered Luke his first rudimentary training with the weapon aboard the Millennium Falcon during the passage to Alderaan.
Luke carried the lightsaber throughout the majority of the Galactic Civil War, gradually growing in skill and in the Force. The lightsaber was instrumental in his escape from the Wompa on Hoth.
When Luke faced Darth Vader in Cloud City on Bespin, he lost the saber along with his right hand to Vader's saber stroke. The saber plummeted down the principal pylon shaft on Cloud City and out of knowledge.
However, the saber re-emerged during Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Movie poster art shows Finn with Luke's lightsaver in hand. 
Additionally, a brief clip released by Lucasfilm reveals Finn holding the saber in a combat pose. 
However, these are misdirects.  The lightsaber had come into the possession of Maz Kanata, the owner of a trading post on a forested planet.  Rey heard the lightsaber "calling" to her when Han Solo took her to Maz to help her find the Resistance.  When she touched it, she received a series of visions.  Maz insisted that Rey should take it, and use it to find the now missing Luke.  Rey refused and ran off.  Maz then gave the lightsaber to Finn with the purpose of getting it to Rey.  
Finn used to lightsaber to fight off the attacking First order, and took it with him to rescue Rey from Starkiller Base. There, he used it to fight Kylo Ren.  Kylo disarmed Finn, severely wounding him.  When he tried to grab the lightsaber, however, Rey picked it up instead, and used it to defeat Kylo.  After escaping the base, she found Luke and presented the lightsaber to him once more. 

Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Backstory, The Battle of Jakku Took Place Just Over A year After The Battle of Endor Between The Forces Of The New Republic and the Galactic Empire


"We're headed toward a large standoff with the rebels. We're committing a fair portion of the fleet, and if the damned Rebellion wants to stand a chance of keeping that sector, they'll have to do the same. This promises to be the largest battle since Endor."
Grand Moff Randd

Prelude

"Here we have the desert world of Jakku—worthless on its own but soon to live forever in history as the place where the Empire defeated the Rebellion once and for all."
―Randd, during the planning of the Battle of Jakku[src]
During the Battle of Endor, the Galactic Empire was drastically weakened when the Alliance to Restore the Republic managed to destroy its dreaded battle station, the Death Star II. Before it was destroyed, Luke Skywalker, a Jedi Knight, turned his father, the Sith Lord Darth Vader, away from the dark side of the Force. Vader, once again the Jedi Anakin Skywalker, threw Darth Sidious, his former Sith Master and Galactic Emperor of the New Order, down the second Death Star's reactor core, where he died. The Rebels celebrated their victory on the Endor moon, believing the fight to be won. Nevertheless the Rebellion, now a rival galactic government known as the New Republic, would still be engaged in bloody combat against the remaining forces of the Empire in the year following the station's destruction.[6]


The Battle

"Our victory on Endor was just the beginning. Now over the barren world of Jakku, we stand against the Galactic Empire."
―Rebel trooper
The Battle of Jakku occurred one year and four days after the Battle of Endor between the forces of the New Republic and the Galactic Empire. With the rebels aiming to capture a critical sector in the galactic war and receiving intelligence of an Imperial weapons facility on the planet,[5] the Empire readily dismissed the notion of a rebel victory and sent a large portion of its now militarily exhausted Navy to combat the rebels over control of the planet in a battle that could change the course of the war. With the Empire's command of many of the galaxy's major shipyards, Republic forces planned a bold move to capture the Imperial-class Star Destroyer Inflictor, sending Thane Kyrell and a number of former Imperials to board the ship and disable its hyperdrive and self-destruct mechanism, due to their knowledge of Star Destroyer layouts.[4]
The battle, while tactically in the Empire's advantage from the beginning soon turned into a rout, with New Republic soldiers assaulting the concentrated Imperial positions from multiple sides at once both on the ground and in space. With the Imperials no longer having the martial advantage it once had in the years before Endor, flawed tactics as much as leadership gnawed away at an Imperial victory. With Imperial Captain Ciena Ree of the Inflictor about to contact Grand Moff Randd to suggest splitting up the fleet to combat the Rebel star cruisers from multiple angles, as well as sending twentry-gun raiders into the atmosphere to support the TIE fighters in orbit, her ship was suddenly boarded by New Republic soldiers. With no choice, the commander of the vessel attempted to activate the ship's self-destruct, only to discover that the boarders had disabled it. Seeing no other option, as well as seeing a way to leave the Empire she disliked while keeping her oath, Ree ordered her crew to evacuate and then scuttled the ship by crashing the Star Destroyer onto the surface of Jakku, sending shockwaves across the desert world. However before the crash, the rebel Thane Kyrell stunned and managed to carry her to an escape pod before the Inflictor crashed, bringing the Captain and miraculously his former lover into Republic custody. The battle had ended in a decisive defeat for the Galactic Empire.[4]

Aftermath

"In the month since the Battle of Jakku, the Empire has attempted no further large-scale offensives. Sources report all Imperial vessels within the Core and Inner Rim staying within the boundaries defined by the treaty. A few prominent members of the Provisional Senate have speculated that the New Republic's war with the remnants of the Empire has finally come to an end and that a final surrender may be imminent. However, in her address today, the chancellor warned that all planets should remain on high alert, and that the New Republic Starfleet should be kept on a war footing for the foreseeable future."
―A New Republic news holo[src]


The fallen Star Destroyer Inflictor some thirty years after the battle
With the battle ending with a victory for the rebels, Captain Ciena Ree wondered whether the Empire's plans for making a stand at Jakku were betrayed by an admiral or Grand Moff in a power play, as well as believing that outdated Imperial battle tactics played a part in the Empire's defeat. With the old strategy calling for a concerted, simultaneous effort by all ships engaged in combat and controlled by a central command, the lack of martial resources and effective leadership played a key role in the Empire's defeat, with rebel attacks on Imperial flanks ultimately proving fatal and contributing to heavy Imperial losses. A month following the battle, the Empire did not attempt to instigate any large-scale offensives with the New Republic. Eventually, the exhausted Empire negotiated a treaty with the New Republic, forcing Imperial vessels located in the Core and Inner Rim to remain within pre-determined boundaries. With the treaty signed, a few prominent members of the reestablished Galactic Senate believed that the New Republic's war with the Empire was nearing its end and that the Empire's surrender was imminent.[4]
 
Approximately thirty years later, Jakku's desert landscape was still littered with wreckage from the battle in an area known as the Graveyard of Giants,[5] with the fallen Star Destroyer Inflictor and at least one X-wing fighter remaining at least somewhat intact. Rey, a female human scavenger, drove through the old battlefront on her speeder bike. Sometime later, the Millennium Falcon and several First Order TIE fighters were involved in a skirmish over the wreckage.[2]

Behind the scenes

The Battle of Jakku made its first appearance in the novel Lost Stars, but is also seen in Star Wars Battlefront as a free downloadable level released on December 8, 2015, two weeks before the premiere of Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens. Anyone who pre-ordered the game received the DLC one week early on December 1, 2015.

Appearances

Sources

Notes and references

  1. Aftermath
  2. 2.0 2.1 Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens
  3. As the Jedi massacre took place several years before the events of Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens, the assault on Tuanul, which is depicted in the opening scenes of The Force Awakens, is the next known event after the massacre.
  4. 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 4.15 4.16 4.17 4.18 4.19 4.20 4.21 4.22 Lost Stars
  5. 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 5.11 5.12 5.13 5.14 5.15 5.16 5.17 5.18 5.19 5.20 5.21 5.22 5.23 5.24 5.25 5.26 5.27 5.28 5.29 5.30 5.31 Star Wars Battlefront
  6. Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi


In other languages
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Battle_of_Jakku